Machine for producing building blocks



y 1960 H. E. WILSON 2,934,808

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING BUILDING BLOCKS Filed May 9, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 o E Home E. Wilson IN VEN TOR.

\ 1 406;... BY wms% May 3, 1960 H. E. WILSON MACHINE FOR PRODUCING BUILDING BLOCKS Filed Ma 9, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 R m n 0 m m H l W E e w H w mv vv I ww I :i mv m 3 mm wk R 2. mm v E May 3, 1960 H. E. WILSON MACHINE FOR PRODUCING BUILDING BLOCKS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 9, 1956 Ho we E. Wilson INVENTOR. Mm BY m! 3% May 3, 1960 H. E. WILSON 2,934,808

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING BUILDING BLOCKS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 m W Jr m If @m \m A All,

Howe E. W//s0n INVENTOR.

May 3, 1960 H. E. WILSON MACHINE FOR PRODUCING BUILDING BLOCKS Filed May 9, 1956 v 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 ilinililalima'l Diimav Home E. Wilson INVENTOR.

y 1960 H. E. WILSON 2,934,808

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING BUILDING BLOCKS Filed May 9, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fig /3 Howe E. Wilson INVENTOR.

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING BUILDING BLOCKS Howe E. Wilson, Calumet City, Ill. ApplicationMay 9, 1956, Serial No. 583,822 4 1 Claim. or. 25-99 This invention relates to an apparatus for producing building blocks especially those of the type disclosed in the United States patent to Howe E. Wilson, No. 2,676,482, for Wall of Reinforced Spaced Building Blocks.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision of a machine for producing building blocks which is especiallyrapid in operation and capable of being used tomanufacture a large number of building blocks in a minimum period of time.

The construction of this invention features an endless belt conveyor having means ,carried by the conveyor for receiving mix from a hopper and for performing operations thereon to obtain building blocks having a highly attractive exterior configuration. Utilized in the invention is means for tamping the mix to a suitable level for reception of a suitable facing thereon and further includes means for applying colored powder onto the finishing material so as to color the building blocks in any manner as may be desired.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for manufacturing building blocks which can provide suitable contours and configurations in the building blocks whereby suitable grooves are automatically formed in the finished block by the machine without requiring any waste of material.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for manufacturing building blocks which includes an endless belt on which platens may be readily placed and on which platens a mix may be positioned so that as soon as the mix is only partially set, the platens may be removed allowing the building block to complete its setting and curing even when disposed on the platens, after which the platens may be readily used and reused. I

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of a machine for producing building blocks that is easy to operate, which is adapted for continuous use, and which is efficient in operation. These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this machine for producing building blocks, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine for producing building blocks with parts being broken away to allow the machine to be shown in a larger scale;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the machine with parts thereof being broken away to allow the machine to be shown in a larger scale for clarity;

Figure 3 is an enlarged partial and elevational view showing the manner in which the conveyor may be entrained on one of the end wheels utilized in the invention;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional View as taken along the plane of line 44 in Figure 3 further illustrating the mounting arrangement for the conveyor;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional detail view as taken along the plane of line 55 in Figure 2 illustrating the hopper for use in delivering mix to the platens;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view showing in an enlarged scale details of the construction of the hop- .p i

'Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional detail view as taken U te States P m along the plane of line 7-7 in Figure 5 further illustrating the construction of the hopper; Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional detail view as taken along the plane of line 8-8 in Figure 5 illustrating the adjusting means for use in positioning the hopper;

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional detail view as taken along the plane ofline 99 in Figure 1 illustrating details of the construction of the tamping means utilized in the invention;

Figure 10 is a partial detail view illustrating the manner in which movement of the belt causes the tamper to rotate;

Figure 11 is a sectional detail view in an enlarged scale as taken along the plane of line 11-11 in Figure 9;

Figure 12 is an enlarged sectional detail view illustrating the construction of the hopper for delivering finishing material and the means for leveling the finishing material;

Figure 13 is a sectional detail view in an enlarged scale as taken along the plane of line 1313 of Figure 12 illustrating in particular the leveling means for the finishing material; and

Figure 14 is a perspective view of one of the blocks which can be produced in accordance with the invention.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, and with initial attention directed to Figure 14, reference numeral 20 generally designates one type of building unit or block which can be produced in accordance with the invention. This building unit 20 is a generally rectangular flat slab having a peripheral tongue as at 22 therein and having a suitably colored finished surface 24. Various colors as may be desired may be utilized in the finishing of the surface 24. Further, these colors may be modeled, marbled, or otherwise applied so as to enable a building of highly attractive appearance to be constructed utilizing these building blocks 20. In order to produce the building blocks 20, especially in a rapid and highly efiicient manner the machine for producing blocks comprising the present invention and generally indicated by reference numeral 26 is utilized. This machine includes an endless belt 28 which is entrained about end wheel assemblies 30 and 32.

Referring now more particularly to the detail views of the end wheel 30 as is shown in-Figures 3 and 4, it will be noted that the end wheels 30 and 32 are mounted on shafts 34 and 36 respectively which are journaled in bearing blocks 38 and 40. Each of the wheel assemblies 30 and '32 includes three disks 42, 44, and 46 each of which is provided with a series 6 of annularly spaced notches 48, 50 and 52 therein.

The machine 26 further includes a suitable frame work 58 of desired construction which includes longitudinal members 60 and 62 which support guide rails 64 and 66.

The endless belt conveyor 28 has a plurality of spaced ribs 70 extending from the opposite surfaces thereof in which axles 72 are positioned which axles carry rollers or wheels 74 and 76 engageable on the rail elements 78 and 80 forming portions of the generally C-shaped guide rails 64 and 66. The guide rails 64 and 66 carry guide plates 82 and 84 which as can be seen best in Figure 13 may be provided with ribs or tongues 86 and 88 thereon for forming grooves in the mix deposited on the series of platens 90 which are placed on the conveyor belt 28 by any suitable means such as by hand or automatically.

Each of the platens rests on a plurality of ribs 70 and each includes a rear end Wall 92 which is provided With opposing tongues 94 and 96 so that the peripheral groove 22 can be formed in the building block during the initial stages of setting thereof thus preventing the necessity of tamp mixed thereon as it passes.

cutting these grooves in the blocks and thus wasting material, as well as labor. The platens 90 are arranged in edge-to-edge abutting relationship and are adapted to pass beneath the hopper'98. Thishopper;98 ispreferably mounted on supports 100 which carry'a supporting ring 102 engageable with the conical surface 1040f the extension portion of the hopper. This extension portion may be adjustably detachably secured in place to the main portion 106 of the hopper by a plurality of setscrews' 108 which clampingly engagethe main portion 106 of the hopper.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and through 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that the main portion of the hopper is supported against rotation and rests on bearings 110 carried in races supported by a peripheral plate 112 which has a ring gear 114 thereon adapted to be engaged by a gear 116 for rotating the plate 112. This plate 112 carries a screw 118 for delivering mix from the material at an extraordinarily rapid rate downwardly onto a platen 90. The screw 118 further rests on roller bearings 120 carried by a framework 122 which may be welded or otherwise secured to the rails 64 and 66. Hence, since the gear 116 is driven by a shaft 126 which in turn is driven by a motor128, the motor 128 being suitably supported in any desired manner, mix may be delivered onto the'platen at a high rate of speed in a quantity adequate to fill the platen as it is being moved by the belt. The mix delivered by the hopper 98 is sufficient to fill the platen to a level equal to the height of the side rails 82 and 84. In order to tarnp the mix deposited thereon to a suitable level so that finishing material can be applied on the mix, the tamper indicated at 140 is utilized. This tamper 140 is mounted on a shaft .142 freely vertically movable as by gravity within a slot 144 carried by supports 146 suspended from the ceiling or other suitable structure in which the machine 26 is located or by means of a ground supported yoke, not shown. The tamper 140 is a polygonal unit 148, shown as a hexagonal shaped revolving drum having a plurality of fiat sides, 1S0, six in number, and a plurality of apices 152. Each of the apices are provided with recesses 154 therein for accommodating the upper portions of the end walls 92 of the platens as can be best seen in Figure 10. As the endless belt 28 carrying the platens 90 moves along, gravity causes the tamper 140 to assume the position as is shown in Figure 9, further movement of the belt will engage the end wall 92 of a platen in a recess 154 in an apex 150 whereby ensuing movement of the I belt will cause the tamper 140 to both rotate and rise in the slot 144. This will occur until the platen slowly descends to again attain the position as is shown in Figure 9 tamping the mix downwardly due to the weight of the tamper 140. It is noted that the plates 150 of the tamper are slottedas at 158 and 160 for reception of the side rails or plates 82 and 84.

, After the. belt passes beneath the tamper, it then passes beneath a hopper 164 which has a control means mounted on a shaft 166 and including a gate 168 for controlling flow of material therefrom. The hopper 164 is adapted to be filled with finishing material 170 such as a fine grain cementitious mix or the like. This deposits a quantity of finishing material on the platens having the The hopper 164 may be mounted by means of supports or brackets 172, the amount of flow from the hopper being controlled by the position of the handle 174. By means of brackets 176 secured to studs 178 mounted on the side rails 82 and 84 or elsewise as may be desired is a guide 180 within which a leveling member 182 is adapted to be reciprocated. The leveling member is reciprccated by means of a motor 186 mounted on a bracket 188 adjacent the conveyor belt and which motor drives a shaft 190 on which there is secured an eccentric or cam 192 engageable between guides 194 and 196 on the leveling member 182. Hence, rotation of the eccentric 192 will cause transverse oscillatory movement of the leveler-182 in a rapid manner thus providing a very smooth surface on the block being produced.

After the platen with .themixhaving the finishing material thereon moves from underneath the leveler 182, it

passes beneath means for coloring thefinishing material generally indicated at 200. This means preferably includes as can be best seen in Figures 1 and 2 a plurality of hoppers 202 which feed pumps 204 for blowers which supply air ladden coloring powder through a plurality of nozzles 206 and onto the finishing material on the block being produced. Of course, each of the hoppers 204 may be filled with different colored or varieties of coloring powder to thereby enable either single color or multicolored, marbleized or the like finished surfaces to be obtained. I The belt is as can be best seen in Figure 1 driven by a motor 210. Obviously, a pulley arrangement, not shown, may be utilized in lieu of the separate power motors.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Fur-ther, since numerous -'modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit theinvention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be restorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

In a machine for producing building blocks an endless belt conveyon'said endless belt conveyor having a plurality of transverse ribs spaced along the length thereof, end mounting wheels having annularly spaced notches in the periphery thereof, said belt being entrained about said end wheels with said ribs being received in said notches, a plurality of platens removably supported on said conveyor, said platens resting on said ribs and being arranged in end to end abutting relationship, said platens each having a vertically extending rear end wall extending transversely with respect to said conveyor, a tamper, said tamper being a rigid polygonal shaped weight disposed for free floating vertical movement above said conveyor, said tamper having spaced recesses therein, said rear end walls of said platens engaging said tamper in the recesses therein for rotating said tamper to raise said tamper whereby gravity will cause said tamper to press down on the mix on the next successive platen, a pair of guide rails, said 'guide rails being disposed on opposite sides of said conveyor, a plurality of axles, carried by said ribs, and guide wheels on said axles, said guide wheels riding on said guide rails, a pair of side plates fixedly carried by said guide rails in alignment with said platens, said side plates having inwardly extending tongues thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 355,876 Lesneur Jan. 11, 1887 658,791 Lesch Oct. 2, 1900 707,921 Hall Aug. 26, 1902 1,165,809 Solon Dec. 28, 1915 1,196,327 Besser Aug. 29, 1916 1,265,138 Taylor May 7, 1918 1,342,192 Trevillian June 1, 1920 1,406,856 Hatch Feb. 14, 1922 1,453,746 Carey May 1, 1923 1,691,899 Paley Nov. 13, 1928 1,694,579 Brock Dec. 11, 1928 1,814,172 Martinet July 14, 1931 2,038,801 McQuade Apr. 28, 1936 2,214,191 Batchell Sept. 10, 1940 2,320,728 Hume June 1, 1943 2,390,564 T edrow Dec. 11, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES 1,980 Great Britain 1857 

